Cigar quality control

[joncaputo]

Have you ever noticed that on occasion when you buy a box of cigars that a few of the sticks..well..dont taste anywhere near like the others.

I wonder if there are universal quality control measures that the larger cigar manufacturers follow or if its sort of every man for himself.

anyone know?

j

[undergroundspy713]

I believe its every man for himself. I've been to many a factories and have noticed a lot of them using the Drawmaster machine. That thing is complete utter BS! I've bought many boxes though only to find a few sticks not up to par. These things are rolled by human hands and human eyes do the quality control, and humans do make mistakes.

[joncaputo]

See I was wondering if it was just me. That sort of begs the question if certain cigar makers are more consistent than others when it comes to quality. Of course the answer must be yes but I think it would be a great idea if there were some universal rules/guidelines that all cigar manufacturers would follow..

[baboruger]

Well, now see I think that with the nature of the product and blending, you can get one leaf that tastes just a little different and the whole cigar will be different. I also think as far as construction issues, if I count up the number of QUALITY cigars that I have smoked and then the number that had construction issues, it would be a really low percentage for something that is hand made.

I think the cheapies do have issues, but 99 times out of 100 with premium cigar, there will be consistency.

[joncaputo]

Good point. I also tend to think many quality issues begin with the B/M places that do not properly care for/humidify their product.

[baboruger]

Originally Posted by joncaputo

Good point. I also tend to think many quality issues begin with the B/M places that do not properly care for/humidify their product.

True. You often hear the argument that a cigar bought from one of the big online retailers is different from what you can get at your B&M because of flavor or construction issues, but I think it has more to do with the fact that it must be really hard, if not impossible to keep all of the inventory of a CI or something in the right environment.

[hayward_tenney]

I understand that Rocky Patel has one of the most exacting quality control processes in the business, which is why he turns out so many "factory selects" & "seconds."

[baboruger]

Originally Posted by hayward_tenney

I understand that Rocky Patel has one of the most exacting quality control processes in the business, which is why he turns out so many "factory selects" & "seconds."

I read somewhere on here that Pepin, rather than put out a second or a "select" for cosmetic purposes will just take the cigar apart and re-roll it.

[hayward_tenney]

I read that too, somewhere. That would account for differences in price, I guess.

[hayward_tenney]

Originally Posted by baboruger

True. You often hear the argument that a cigar bought from one of the big online retailers is different from what you can get at your B&M because of flavor or construction issues, but I think it has more to do with the fact that it must be really hard, if not impossible to keep all of the inventory of a CI or something in the right environment.

Not sure about that, I think that the bigger retailers have the means to keep their cigars in proper conditions (with at least ONE obvious exception, LOL). I know our warehouse is kept in a constant state of proper humidity, although it's cold back there, which is one of the best reasons to let a cigar rest once bought from an online retailer, IMO. Cigars are living, breathing things, but in a warehouse they're almost brought to a point of stasis, it seems.

[joncaputo]

Interesting about the Patel re-rolls. I hadnt heard of that before.

Anyone had one of those re-rolled Patels?

[baboruger]

Originally Posted by hayward_tenney

Not sure about that, I think that the bigger retailers have the means to keep their cigars in proper conditions (with at least ONE obvious exception, LOL). I know our warehouse is kept in a constant state of proper humidity, although it's cold back there, which is one of the best reasons to let a cigar rest once bought from an online retailer, IMO. Cigars are living, breathing things, but in a warehouse they're almost brought to a point of stasis, it seems.

LOL, I know, I was not calling out your place of business...just an observation

[hayward_tenney]

oflmao: I didn't take it personally - I just know I've been in some small B&M's where proper storage is a problem. But I don't smoke ANYTHING straight out of our warehouse, always give it at least a couple days to settle in.

[CHBIV]

Originally Posted by joncaputo

Interesting about the Patel re-rolls. I hadnt heard of that before.

Anyone had one of those re-rolled Patels?

Yeah I have had a few of the vintage "2nd's" and they were just like the original, except the wrapper was a little lighter than normal. Supposidly the "2nd's" only difference from the original are cosmetic flaws or wrapper coloration issues, the explanation I got was that the majority of the sticks that become seconds are because of wrapper color variations or large sunspots etc. The goal is for a box to be totally uniform in shade of wrapper, now they also have another level beyond the seconds which are called "X-Outs" that are underfilled or misrolled and those are the ones that are the "iffy" sticks IMO.

[hayward_tenney]

Exactly. Also, my understanding is that there are no Rocky Patel re-rolleds, but that Pepin does this. Rocky simply sells them as another tier in quality.